Lilac
by Gogo Starship
Summary: As Jesse's final days in Ohio for spring break draw to a close, Rachel feels insecure due to Jesse's constant absence. He manages to prove to her he will never leave her behind. Part five of the Bouquet series.


So, I was rewatching prom (for the, erm, fifth time…) and I realized Finn said something stupid, and I was a little disappointed by Rachel's reaction. Especially when she showed she still missed him. UGH. When he was like "Do you remember what he did to you?" SHE should have been like "Of course! I remember much better than you do!"

But she didn't. Alas, I move on. Time for Lilac, you guys! Awwwww!

Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Glee, Ryan Murphy do. (grammar fail intended for the sake of rhyme).

Rachel had only two days left with Jesse, and he had been missing in action for most of the past three. It was hardly how she wanted to spend the remaining days before the crushing heartbreak of her second goodbye to her soul mate. It was so tragic, having to say farewell, even if only for a few months. A few terrible, Jesse-less months. It would most likely push her into a downward spiral.

Jesse had been so absent the last couple days, she had to just see his face one more time. It was unfair, how often he was gone.

_Flashback_

_Rachel glanced up at the clock, her jaw clenched as she tapped her foot continuously on the hardwood floors of her kitchen. Jesse was supposed to be home hours ago, his tardiness was simply atrocious! Her dads had taken him in, giving him a place to stay, and had had the decency to make him a nice dinner- with _meat_, for goodness' sake! And he had the gall to be late again? To miss it completely. Her dads had been understanding, saying Jesse had a right to live his life outside of their household. _

_Rachel found this to be completely unacceptable. She waited dutifully in the kitchen, still at the table, her plate of pasta salad completely untouched. She would wait until he got home, and then interrogate him and snap at him until the guilt he felt was unbearable. _

_It felt like hours, though it was only about forty-five minutes later, when the door finally opened and Jesse walked in, flopping down onto the living room couch. Rachel could see him clearly through the door-less doorway that led from the kitchen into the living room, and she was surprised he hadn't seen her sitting there, arms folded across her chest, eyes burning. _

"_Where have you _been_?" she demanded after a moment of his obliviousness. His head finally snapped up and he grinned at her, looking exhausted but proud. _

"_Nowhere of importance," he said vaguely. He looked at the table of food and beamed, rocketing off the couch and into the kitchen. "This looks delicious—wait, is that actual chicken?" he asked, eyeing the plate hungrily. Rachel's jaw worked. _

"_Yes, my dads were nice enough to make some for you," she snapped. She watched his eyes become guarded, and knew instantly he recognized the anger in her tone and was going to tread lightly. "Not that it matters. You were too inconsiderate to even show up to try some." _

"_I could have some now," he said, his tone light. He reached for a piece with the tongs and Rachel slapped his hand away angrily. _

"_What, you didn't eat while you were of God knows where?" she scoffed. Jesse sighed and lifted his eyes to the ceiling. _

"_Rachel, calm down. I'm just busy, okay?" He grabbed some chicken off of the table and placed a kiss to Rachel's forehead. "I'll give you tonight to cool off. 'Night." _

_End_

He hadn't even apologized. It left Rachel shaking with anger every time she even thought about it.

She pushed herself off the couch and stormed up to her room, determined to get some face time in with him, even if it meant cussing out his Facebook picture. She immediately logged on and ignored Noah when he started chatting. She went straight to Jesse's page and flipped through his pictures, muttering various obscenities at his overly-smug face.

"You absolute _bastard." _Click. "I can't believe you're such an _ass_." Click. "You can you go die in a—_what the hell_?"

It was a picture of Jesse with his arm wrapped tightly around a beautiful blond girl, all tan skin and legs and chest. He was smirking, and her lips were pressed to his jaw. Rachel could accept that Jesse had been with many girls, but couldn't he at least delete the pictures? She turned away from her computer, ignoring the occasional dings indicating an IM (most likely from Noah, or Mercedes), and collapsed onto her bed, screaming loudly into her pillow as to muffle the sounds.

"Whoa, someone has been having a bad day," a voice came from behind her, at her door. "What's wrong, Rachel?"

Speak of the devil. Rachel took her pillow out from under her and pressed it over her ears to block out his voice, too upset to speak, or look at him, or hear him. See no Jesse, hear no Jesse, speak not to Jesse.

She felt a warm hand fall on her shoulder and she turned away from it stubbornly. The pillow was still covering her face, but she was starting to have trouble breathing. She settled for throwing it at Jesse.

"Whoa!" he ducked and the pillow sailed over his head, right to the laptop. It landed on the keyboard with a soft thud, and as he went to retrieve it, his eyes fell on the screen. Jesse frowned. "Is that what has you so upset?"

Rachel snatched the pillow from his hands and hugged it tightly to her chest. "Part of it, yes. I understand that you've been with a lot of girls, and you always say I'm different, and special, or whatever… But how am I supposed to think that when you've been avoiding me like the plague the past few days?" Her voice hitched and tears burned her eyes, but she refused to let them fall in front of them.

"Rachel—"

"I'd like to be alone," she whispered softly. Jesse sighed and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips before following her request and exiting the room.

It was Jesse's last day in Ohio, and Rachel still couldn't find the courage to step out of her room and face him. He would come and knock on her door every few minutes and beg her to come out, only to be met in silence. Finally, it seemed, enough was enough.

"Dammit Rachel, just talk to me!" he shouted, bursting into her room. "It's my last day, don't you want to spend it with me?"

Seeing him weakened her resolve to avoid him. "Of course I do."

"Then put on something pretty and meet me in the living room in thirty minutes," he said flatly. The door closed softly as he made his leave.

Slowly going through the motions, Rachel wondered where Jesse was going to take her. Would it be Breadstix, or a dance club? Maybe a café? She had no idea. She just put on a simple floral dress, her trusty Mary Janes, and met him in the living room when she was done doing her hair. He smiled at her and offered his hand, and she smiled back weakly as she accepted it.

"I'm sorry I snapped earlier. I was just frustrated," he explained.

"I would be, too," she said, "I was overreacting."

She noticed a box from the local florist and grinned, asking silently if she could open it. Jesse nodded and she immediately jumped on the couch, ripping the box open. She gasped, her hand falling on her heart as she realized what he was trying to say.

"Oh, Jesse…."

"Lilacs, first love," he explained unnecessarily. "Rachel, I've been with a lot of girls, and it's not something I'm proud of. But I want you to know that you're the only one I've ever loved, and you'll always be the only girl I'll ever love. The rest of them mean nothing to me. You mean everything."

Rachel immediately glued her lips to his, smiling into the kiss. "Shall we go, then?"

"Yes we shall," he replied.

The next day, as they said goodbye, Jesse kissed Rachel on the lips and brushed his fingers against the lilac tucked behind her ear.

"Goodbye, Rachel."

"For now," she said simply before pressing her lips to his.

Alas, all that's left is the epilogue thingy to show their wonderful lives together in the future, YAY!

Drop a review, please? Today has been the worst day ever, I could really use a review… -guilttrip-

Cheers!

Harlot

PS: Tell me your favorite one so far! I'd love to hear what you guys think :D


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